The Start of Ever After
by guinevere510
Summary: Happily ever after always begins somewhere...the start of Rapunzel and Eugene's life together. A new chapter! Time to face the guards. Rated T to be safe.
1. The Tower

**A/N: Well, **_**Tangled **_**certainly lit a fire under my bum for writing fanfic again, I haven't written in a very long time! I hope you enjoy it, it's sure been an experience getting back into it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled and never will. Baw.**

**Chapter 1 – The Tower**

It was dark. It was more than dark, it was black. Completely black, and very cold.

Where was he? And why couldn't he move? Why couldn't he feel anything, or see anything?

Not only that, he could hardly remember anything…a smudge of brown, a frantic voice, two big eyes, two big, _green_ eyes…they had been filled with tears…

Rapunzel. _Rapunzel. _

And suddenly a tiny spot of heat shot through the cold, almost as if he'd been pricked by a needle. It was moving, and spreading, the cold was fading away as the heat grew stronger, and now there was a small circle of light, growing larger and larger. He felt the blackness rolling away. He realised he could feel his fingers, and toes, and he had a mouth, and lungs…_lungs, straining for air…_

A small gasp of air rattled down his throat, and he realised someone was saying his name.

"Eugene?" The voice sounded desperate, and yet…hopeful?

His eyes – he had to open his eyes. With a monumental effort he made his eyelids move, dimly aware of being amazed that he could do so. His vision flickered for a moment as he struggled to keep his eyes open but, finally, he was able to focus on what was in front of him.

Eyes. Her eyes…

She was there – she was alive! And he – he was too, the pain in his side was gone! But her hair – he had cut it off, it was short and brown…and shiny and lovely and at that moment was the most beautiful sight he had ever laid eyes on.

"Rapunzel," he murmured, finding his voice somewhere in there and managing to make it work. "Have I ever told you…"

* * *

It seemed like had hours had passed but, as Eugene sat propped up against the banister with his arms wrapped around the tiny figure leaning against him, his chin resting on her hair, in reality it was probably only a few moments. After sharing with her what had been – he hoped – the most well-deserved kiss of his life, they'd both been so still it seemed as it time had been suspended. He was still recovering from the shock of finding himself alive, while Rapunzel…well, the enormity of everything still seemed to be settling over her. He could almost feel it being laid over her like a blanket, sinking in like stones in a river.

He didn't know how she would feel about any of it yet, but he was going to take whatever it was that came his way. She'd brought him back to life…both literally and metaphorically, he mused.

But how? He'd been completely prepared to die so that she might be able to escape, and yet here he was. So many questions! He didn't think he'd ever had so many in his life, and considering his life so far that was something.

But he didn't want to ask them yet. In fact, if Rapunzel didn't want to he wouldn't ask them ever. Right now he felt like he could sit here for the rest of his life without a worry. Absent-mindedly, he reached out a finger and ran it along her hair.

In response she shifted against his chest and turned towards him with a small smile. "It's so _short,_" she said quietly. From his position on the banister Pascal emitted a small whirr of sympathy.

Eugene felt a sharp pang of guilt. He'd just hacked off the thing she identified with most, changed its colour and got rid of its incredible power. "Will you hate me for the rest of your life?"

She pushed away from his chest and crossed her arms, and even after only holding her for a few moments the fact that she was no longer there made him feel strange.

"Hate you? _Hate you?" _she prodded him in the chest and he winced, preparing for the blow. "Are you mad? You saved my life!" She sat back on her heels and stared at him, her eyes full of wonder and Eugene felt his heart swell as he realised she was looking at him with the same kind of awe and excitement she'd shown when she'd first seen the lanterns. "I've never – never had anyone to do that for me before." She looked down at her hands and twisted her fingers together. "I didn't – I mean, I never really thought anyone ever would, not even Mo – " She faltered, and a look of horror crossed her face.

Eugene felt another pang as he realised what she must be feeling at the mention of, well, _her_, and on top of the fact that she'd decided he was in fact a decent human being despite cutting off all her hair he reached out and pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her shoulder.

There was a moment where he felt her chest hitch and she curled her fists around the front of his vest. There was a tiny patter of feet and Eugene felt a small weight bounce across his head and heard the unmistakable noise of Pascal chattering. Then Rapunzel swallowed and said in a wobbly voice, "There was that awful moment when I thought you'd gone off with the crown and left me standing next to a boat, but even then I didn't hate you." She sighed. "I don't know if I could even believe that you had gone…which of course," she said, her voice hardening a little, "you hadn't."

"I'll tell you what," he said, rearranging himself so she was cradled in his lap again, Pascal now seated firmly on her shoulder, "it's got to be up there with the shock I got when I woke up strapped to a boat with the crown in my hand and the soldiers charging on board. And I had no idea where you were…that was a very long night. I think at one point I was considering trying to take the cell apart brick by brick."

In spite of herself she giggled. Eugene grinned, feeling better. Even the frog seemed to be smiling at him, a massive achievement. "Besides," he continued, "you just saved my life too. And I promise you, there are very few other people who would want to do that."

In response she leaned in against his chest again and wrapped her arms around him. "I don't care what you think or what they think," she said fiercely, muffled against him. "You made me see I'm not alone. You showed me what it's like outside this tower. You came to find me even when they'd put you in prison…" She sat up suddenly, eyes narrowed and Pascal wobbling dangerously. "You got out of prison! How did you do that?"

"_Well_," he said, heaving a dramatic sigh. "Have you ever been told to keep your knees apart and then been fired off the end of a cart onto a waiting horse?"

She and the frog stared at him, eyes as wide as her cursed frying pan.

He laughed. "Then this is the story for you!"

She was still completely goggle-eyed. "Who fired you off a cart?"

"The charming folk from the Snuggly Duckling." He stuck his thumb out in the direction of the window. "There's probably a very unhappy Maximus waiting down there."

"Maximus?"

"Don't ask me how he came to feel it necessary to bring a bunch of thugs into the royal prison to break me out. I was standing there with handcuffs on, and the next I was flying through the air." Eugene scratched his beard thoughtfully. "I don't know if there's ever been a time I've been happier to land on a horse. That was before Max launched us off the ramparts and on to a nearby roof, of course, but after that we made it in record time."

Rapunzel was still staring at him. He didn't know if there had been a time in the past three days when she'd been so entirely speechless, even with all the new things she'd seen. It was very endearing.

"But now you need to tell me your story!" he said.

"My story?" she said, looking confused.

"Well…" Eugene swallowed, feeling a bit uncomfortable. How did you bring up your recent death with the girl who had miraculously brought you back to life, despite you cutting off her magic hair? When had his life become so bizarre?

Scratch that, his life had actually always been rather bizarre.

"Well," he continued, "I cut off your hair, and yet here I am."

"Oh!" Rapunzel pointed to her eyes, which he noticed were still rather red. He swallowed again and reached up to hold her hand. She smiled and rested it against her cheek. "My tears."

Now it was his turn to look surprised. "Your _tears?_"

She nodded, looking just as amazed as he felt. "Yes! I was crying – I thought – I thought you were gone…" Her voice wavered and she took a deep breath. Pascal reached up a tiny foot and laid it against her neck.

Eugene tightened his hold on her fingers, not needing to imagine how she must have felt, having held almost no hope of ever seeing her again only a few hours before. In response she pulled his hand away from her face and started to play with his fingers.

"And a tear fell on your face. I was singing…and it – it lit up!" She stopped playing with his hand and reached out to trail her fingers along his cheek. "Just like my hair did! I saw it sink in, and then suddenly there was all this light coming out…" She moved her hand down to his side, and Eugene had to remind himself to concentrate at the feel of her fingers moving along the front of his vest. She stopped where he had felt the cold slide of the knife, and he looked down to see her fingers resting where there was still a tear in the fabric.

"And then…" she said softly, "The whole room seemed to be filled with these…these streams of light, all coming from here…then they disappeared, and I said your name…" She looked back up at him again, and a smile like none he'd ever really witnessed spread across her face. It was like she was glowing, like the light she was describing was literally bursting out of her, a flame burning inside her – which, according to her tale, it probably was.

"And then…your eyes opened," she said breathlessly. "And suddenly you were talking to me again…" Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she was still smiling like mad. "Making a joke about brunettes. That's the first thing you said to me, do you realise that?"

He laughed. "Never let it be said that I have lost my touch for having appropriate lines ready for any occasion." He raised his hands so that they framed her face, and pulled her closer, ignoring the outraged squeak of the frog. "And after that?" he said, very quietly.

Her smile, if it was possible, widened, and her eyes took on a gleam that Eugene associated only with the worst kind of mischief she could create. It had used to make him want to run screaming. Now it was rooting him to the spot.

"And after that," she whispered, "I gave you a kiss!"

Pascal made what was most definitely a small froggy sound of revulsion.

Eugene ignored him, feigning a hurt expression. He made a wounded noise. "Gave _me _a kiss? I was not the active party in this, is that right?"

She shook her head proudly. "Nope. _I _kissed _you. _So there," she added for extra flourish.

He looked at her very seriously, staring right into those huge green eyes. "I want you to know that I am going to rectify that. Immediately."

She gave him a look that almost made him tip over – it couldn't be – had she learned to _smoulder? _"Right now?"

"Right now," he said, and pulled her towards him as fast as he dared without sending her sprawling off his lap. Sadly it was too much for Pascal, who rolled on to the floor with a tiny _thump _with an indignant squeal. But Eugene, frankly, couldn't care less about the frog at that point in time – in fact, he'd already completely forgotten Pascal existed.

As soon as her lips touched his it was like he'd been untied from everything – everything he'd ever thought he'd aim for, everything he'd ever held important – all that was left was her, and the fact that one arm was around her waist and the other in her hair. It was just like the first time, like kisses he'd never experienced. Hers were the most fascinating mix of softness and curiosity, a mixture that made Eugene feel like his brain was shutting down.

But this time her curiosity seemed to get the better of her, and she leaned against him harder. And how was she _doing_ that? Had she already learned, in only a few moments, how to move her mouth differently against his? Did her ability to pick up new talents in the tiniest amounts of time extend to everything she did?

His hand moved again to her hair, and he wondered somewhere in the part of his mind that wasn't occupied with her mouth – which was, quite frankly, an infinitesimal part – what it would have been like if he had kissed her on that boat, with her long golden hair in that ridiculously complex braid.

He decided, as he tugged on a strand and she giggled against his mouth – had any other girl ever sent a shiver down his spine like that? _Ever? _– he didn't really want to know. Nothing could beat this. Not a single thing.

One thing was certain: just as seventy-odd feet of hair lay strewn across the tower floor, separated forever from the incredible being sitting on his lap, the more he kissed her the more he become Eugene Fitzherbert and the more Flynn Rider and all that he had done faded into distant memory.

She pulled back much too soon for his liking, her cheeks red and her hand moving to her mouth. "It feels…so strange," she said, looking excited, inquisitive and amazed all at once. _Why _did she have to look like that now when she'd just stopped kissing him? All he wanted to do was go for another one, especially when she looked so adorable.

Instead he settled for leaning his head on her hair again. At least that way he wouldn't be distracted any further by her enthralling expressions. "You'll get used to it, I promise you." He paused. "Especially if I have anything to do with it."

She made a hilarious noise that was somewhere between a squeak and a snort.

"So," he said, "any further surprises coming my way? Any more special talents you've recently discovered?"

…

**Guess what comes next!**

**Please review, feedback is wonderful and helps me improve. **


	2. The Princess

**Thank you so much for the reviews I've got so far and all the alerts! I really appreciate it more than I can say, I was so excited! I'm glad people seem to be enjoying it.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own it.**

**Chapter 2 – The Princess**

"So," he said, "any further surprises coming my way? Any more special talents you've recently discovered?"

He had meant it as a joke, but she went totally still against him as he said it and it immediately put him on alert. Years of sneaking and hiding and responding to the tiniest change in environment made him freeze too. He almost didn't breathe.

But she said nothing for a full minute so finally he wheezed, "What?"

She ducked out from under his chin with an expression on her face that was eerily similar to the one she had worn only last night as they sat beside the campfire, her hair wrapped around his hand. To complete the creeping sense of déjà vu she winced and said, "Don't freak out, but – "

He felt his eyes start to pop. "The last time you said that you were about to perform the most amazing trick I've ever seen anyone do with their hair."

She screwed up her nose, looking very uncomfortable. "Er – well, I suppose this is not quite as surprising as that – well, maybe it is, I mean, it's pretty incredible and I almost can't believe it myself, but I'm so sure because how else could I have known where I had seen the sun before, and I'm sure I looked just like she did on the mural in the square – "

He seized her by the shoulders, an enormous sense of impending doom descending upon him. "Rapunzel, what are you talking about?"

She stared at him for a moment, looking terrified, and then blurted out, "I'm the lost princess!"

Eugene felt everything go numb. His hands slipped from her shoulders and he felt his mouth flop open like a fish. He was probably making the same ridiculous face he'd made when he'd first seen the cut on his hand disappear, his tongue sticking out like – like the frog! His head started to throb as if he'd just been hit with another frying pan.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel was peering anxiously into his face, obviously unnerved by the thunderstruck look he could only imagine she was seeing. "Eugene!"

A princess. _The _princess. The princess whose crown he had stolen. Lifted it right off the plushy purple pillow in the most heavily guarded part of the castle. _Her _castle. Her _parent's _castle. The castle he had just busted out of that very morning with the aid of several local criminals who had mowed down the guards with the ease of spreading softened butter. The guards who he had been avoiding for most of his life. _Her _guards in _her _castle in _her _kingdom whose inhabitants he had been robbing blind for years and years and years.

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no…

"Eugene!" Rapunzel had seized the front of his vest and was rattling him back and forth, looking almost blind with panic. Some vague part of his mind admired yet again the enormous amount of strength she had for such a small girl. "_Eugene!"_

He could hardly hear her over the roaring in his head. He was dimly aware that he was emitting some kind of frenzied wheezing sound.

This was bad, this was really, _really _bad…

How was he supposed to be with her _now_?

And suddenly it hit him with full force just how hard he had been banking on going with her wherever she wanted to go. Of course he'd been thinking it, he'd been absolutely committed to it the minute he'd ridden Max out of the village and clambered through that window. When he'd felt his life leaking away and realised he would rather die there and then if it would save her from a life of servitude with that horrid, lying witch.

And now – now what? He was a wanted thief, and she was a _princess?_

"EUGENE! EUGENE, IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW I SWEAR I'M GOING TO GET MY FRYING PAN AND BEAT YOU OVER THE HEAD!"

Then there was the sudden and unpleasant sensation of something wet and slimy hitting his ear with enormous force. He let out a yell, flailed ineffectually, felt the frog go flying, and tried to focus on the frantic Rapunzel. Her eyes were filled with fear and alarm and she was still clinging to his vest. It was that above anything else that calmed him down enough to stop having what appeared to her to be some kind of collapse.

"Eugene!" she cried again. "Talk to me! Are you okay?"

"Hungh!" he said.

She frowned. "What?"

He tried again. "How – how did you find out? _When _did you find out?"

Now that he was speaking a recognisable language the horrified look on her face faded slightly, but she maintained a tight grip on his clothing. "While you were being fired off a cart," she said, obviously attempting to placate him with a joke, "I was in my bedroom looking at the flag you bought me at the festival yesterday."

"The flag," Eugene said slowly. "With the sun on it?"

"Yes, exactly!" she said, clearly encouraged by his response. Pascal had clambered back up onto her shoulder and was nodding vigorously. "The sun! I was holding it up when I realised…" There was a pause as she obviously tried to think of a way to explain it, then she abruptly stood up and held out her hand. "Come up to my bedroom."

_That _got his attention. "Come up to your – _what?"_

She huffed impatiently, obviously not yet aware of the effect the sentence 'come up to my bedroom' would have upon most rational men. Pascal rolled his little reptilian eyes. "I need to show you what I'm talking about with the sun and the flag!"

Eugene looked down at his wrist which was, he realised for the first time, still encased in a shackle. How had he not noticed that he was still chained to the stairs? Was she always going to have this effect on him? "Erm – I appear to be stuck to the staircase."

Rapunzel looked dumbstruck. "Oh no! How do we get you out?"

"Okay," Eugene said, trying to maintain some kind of composure while still feeling as if his world had been turned upside down for the hundredth time in only three days. "Give me a second."

He reached into the pouch he always kept on his belt, felt around for a moment, and pulled out his trusty lock pick. Rapunzel's eyes widened when she saw it. "What is _that_?"

"It's – uh – it's a lock pick," said Eugene, acutely aware of how awkward this was given her recent revelation that she was, in fact, royalty. "It – wait, I'll show you."

He found the lock on the shackle, stuck in the pick, wriggled it around and felt the lock click loose. "You see," he said, "it works like a key if you don't have one."

Rapunzel continued to stare at the pick in awe and Eugene felt his stomach drop. This was it, the moment where she finally realised what he already had: there was no way she could take him anywhere near the castle…she was going to tell him that because of what he was there was no way she could stay with him…

"That's amazing!" she squealed, clapping her hands. "Do you think I could have one?"

Eugene stared at her. The shackle hit the floor with a _clunk._

"Oh good, you're finished!" She grabbed his hand and wrenched him around and up the stairs, bounding up two at a time with that wretched frog sitting on her shoulder looking smugly back at him as he was hauled along behind her.

Suddenly he was pulled through a set of curtains. He barely had time to register the tiny room in which she had spent eighteen years – eighteen _years_! – sleeping. Rapunzel immediately leapt towards her bed and thrust a small square of purple fabric at his face. "Here! Look at it, and then look at the ceiling!"

Eugene stared at the sun on the flag. There it was, the symbol of the kingdom, the royal crest, hitting him like a smack in the face. Nervously he clutched at the fabric and turned to look at Rapunzel, who was watching him eagerly. He could see her biting her lip, her cheeks flushed, her eyes shining, her hands…trembling?

She was terrified, he realised. She must be scared stiff, suddenly seeing something she knew nobody would believe…she must have faced Gothel anyway, told her what she knew, why else would the witch have chained her up and tried to drag her away?

His heart finally stopped pounding as he looked at her. Her eyes were totally focused on his face, watching his every move. She had been so brave through everything, a determined, feisty, frankly often frightening force standing staunchly by his side. And even when she thought he had left her she had found the strength to face the woman who she would have realised had kept her prisoner for eighteen years, and still had the guts left over to offer herself to Gothel in order to save him.

He felt an enormous rush of affection and pride and he seized her hand, rubbing her fingers to try and stop their shaking.

If she can do all of that, he thought, I can look at this stupid flag, and no matter who or what she is I can take her wherever she wants to go and face the sodding consequences.

He looked down at the flag again and then back to her. She (and Pascal) simply pointed up.

He followed the direction of her finger, peering up at the arched ceiling. It was covered in paintings – they were incredible! There were so many of them! Well, he thought, I suppose when you're stuck here for eighteen years you want to make it as pleasant as you can.

He looked back down at the flag, and then up. There was a spot just above him that looked – wait – _no_, it couldn't be – was that the _shape of a sun_?

His mouth popped open once more as he looked again at the flag and then again at the paintings around him. There it was! It was there! And another one! And – he nearly tipped over as he tried to look everywhere at once, spinning on the spot – another, and another, and yet _another_…they were everywhere, all over her room, nestled in between a thousand different shapes and in all different sizes, but there without a doubt.

He dropped his gaze to her and stared. In his hand her fingers finally stopped trembling, and he saw her visibly relax as she took in the expression on his face, a smile breaking through her anxiety. "Do you see them?"

He nodded, totally lost for words. She had been painting them her whole _life, _without even realising it…

She stood there for a second, just grinning at him and then, with a small strangled noise she threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his middle, her head buried again in his vest.

"I realised when I was lying on my bed," he heard her say, her voice reverberating in his chest, a small, pleasant hum that melted away the last of his shock. "I suddenly saw a – a mobile, I suppose from when I was a baby, and it had the shape of the sun on it. It had been hanging over my head, and I – I thought I saw my – my _parents_ – " Her voice broke on the word and she pulled back suddenly, her eyes enormous in her flushed face. "My _parents! _I – I have parents! I saw them in the mural in the square, and I remembered when I put that crown in your satchel on my head – "

Eugene tightened his hold on her waist and planted a series of furious kisses on her forehead, feeling the most exquisite combination of joy and fear he'd ever experienced. He didn't know if he'd ever felt so full to bursting with emotion before, and all he really wanted to do was let her know that he was feeling everything she was and that he was going to stay with her on this insane journey they seemed to be on until she told him to leave, and even then he didn't know if he'd obey her, princess or not.

She responded with a sudden fierceness he probably should have realised was coming, given past experience, but that nonetheless caught him completely off guard. She pulled him down with all of her strength – which was quite a bit – and planted a ferocious kiss on his cheek. He leaned in to rub his face against hers, feeling again the velvety softness of her cheek and – hang on, were they – _wet_?

His skin still stinging from her sudden kiss, Eugene pulled back to look at her. Sure enough, silent tears were pouring down her cheeks.

"I'm – I'm sorry!" she gasped, hurriedly trying to wipe her eyes. "It's just – "

He didn't even let her finish the sentence. "Shhh, don't cry, don't cry," he murmured, pulling her towards him again and falling back to sit on the bed. He rocked her back and forward and she giggled, then hiccoughed. He laughed softly into her hair and rubbed her back. "It's going to be fine, Blondie. You'll see."

She sniffled. "You'll need to find another name to call me."

He kissed the top of her head. "Never." He peered into her face, pushing her hair from her eyes. "Feeling better?"

She nodded and gave him a watery smile. "It's…overwhelming."

"You don't say," he said drily. She gave him a good poke in the ribs, then suddenly turned to him, a look of absolute horror on her face.

"What is it?" he said, alarmed. What else was coming his way today?

"Pascal!" she squealed. "Where did he go? I completely forgot about him!"

"You're worrying about the frog?"

"_Chameleon!" _She dropped off his lap and scrambled under the bed. "Pascal! Are you – oh, there you are! I'm so sorry, Pascal, are you all right?"

A small series of angry chitters and a growl was the reply.

"No, of course! I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" Rapunzel emerged with the little lizard clutched in her hands. There was a look of murder upon his froggy face which he directed straight at Eugene. In response Eugene gave him his best cheesy grin and an exaggerated wink. The look of loathing intensified.

"Well," said Rapunzel, placing Pascal back on her shoulder, "I suppose – it's time to go." She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around her bedroom, suddenly seeming very small.

Eugene was at her side in an instant, his hand automatically reaching for hers. "Do you…" He wasn't sure how to deal with this – what did you do when you'd been hidden away from the world for eighteen years in a tower, and suddenly you realised you were never going to see it again? He swallowed, feeling nervous all over again. "Do you want to take anything with you?"

Rapunzel gave him a grateful smile. "I – I think I might take some of my paints, and my books…" Her eyes lit up. "And my frying pan!"

"Joy of joys," said Eugene. "And I thought I was past being threatened with a cooking utensil."

"You're never past being threatened with a cooking utensil," she replied, moving back through the curtains towards the stairs. He followed her around the tower as she collected her paints and brushes, her books, some of her dresses and, of course, that frying pan. Eugene gave it a dark look as Rapunzel picked it up and carefully placed it with her other belongings. Finally she placed the purple flag on top, smoothing it out and running her fingers over the sun. Then she wrapped everything up in a bundle, tied a cloth around it, and stood in the middle of the floor, her eyes travelling over every last item in the room.

Eugene moved to stand over by the hole in the floor. His fists clenched as he thought about the fact that there had been a secret stairway concealed the entire time right beneath Rapunzel's feet. The disgust he felt for Gothel increased with every passing second. He could hardly wait to get out of this twisted prison she had created for the girl he had come to care about so much, this cell she had made Rapunzel call home.

He watched as Rapunzel came towards him, clutching her bundle with Pascal still on her shoulder. The frog seemed very keen to leave, his tiny face alight with excitement.

Eugene smiled as she stood beside him. "Ready to go?"

She swept her eyes once more around the tower, lingering for just a second on the masses of brown hair still coiled across the tiles. He saw a quick succession of expressions cross her face – sadness, guilt, relief – and finally a sort of steely resolve.

She turned back to him and nodded firmly, her brown hair bobbing, and for all that Eugene had seen the beauty and power of her old hair he loved to see her free of it, no longer weighed down by the presence of a magic that had seen her serve a old witch all of her life.

"I am," she said determinedly, and she slid forward into the hole in the floor and started down the steps, Eugene right behind her.

…

**Aha! Another chapter finished! Let me know what you think. **


	3. The Cloak

**Here we are with more _Tangled _goodness! I've just started my first full-time job out of university so please be patient with me if some updates are a little slower from now on, although now I've said that they might get faster as I try to unwind every day! **

**Also thanks again to those people who have reviewed and added me to their favourites! I'm honoured and very excited. :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

**Chapter 3 – The Cloak**

The stairs were cold, damp and very dark. As she carefully put one foot in front of the other Rapunzel could only feel her hand gripping the rough stone wall, the other clutching her small bundle of belongings and her toes curling over the edges of the steps. She had never in all her life been in such complete blackness before, and she marvelled as she walked that even though she could feel her body moving she could see nothing.

She should have been terrified, she mused. But she wasn't. She felt no wish to hang back and to wonder if this was the right way and consider the idea that she might topple off a step and bounce all the way to the bottom. She was entirely focused on getting to the foot of these steps, walking through whatever door was there and marching out into the world.

Am I changing? She wondered. Can I be different already?

Her own voice floated back to her: _"You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me." _That was what she had said to Mother, wasn't it, only a few hours ago?

Mother. The word made her feel like she was going to be sick. Mother had never been her true mother. She had lied all her life and wanted her only for her hair. She had chained her up and been prepared to lock her away forever. She had hid behind the shutters holding that terrible, cruel knife in her hand, forcing Rapunzel to watch, helpless, as she sunk it in to Eugene's side and he crumpled to the floor. It was going to haunt her always, the memory of him falling, the blood on his shirt, his skin pale and clammy, his voice fading away…

Thinking of it made her feel as if she had hit a solid wall and she stopped abruptly, gripping the stones so hard she felt all the cracks and chips press into her fingers. Oh, Eugene! What if she had lost him…

Something warm and heavy bumped against her back. "Ooof!"

She gasped. "Eugene! I'm sorry, are you all right?"

"Fantastic," she heard him say, feeling his breath against her hair. It was amazing how the sound of his wry voice immediately made her feel able to move again. He was there, and alive, and it was she who had been able to heal him. He was also, she realised as she instinctively leaned back against him, actually very comfortable. "Are you okay, Blondie?"

"Yes," she said firmly, stepping forward onto the next stair, which was a great achievement in itself really, as she had been quite content to simply stand there against him for a while yet.

"And the frog?"

Next to her ear Pascal gave a tiny grumble. Rapunzel grinned. "He's fine too."

Pascal let out a whirr of disapproval that clearly let her know he considered moving through the dark whilst being called a frog was not his idea of "fine".

As she listened to Eugene padding along behind her Rapunzel became aware of the darkness starting to become…less dark. She leaned forward and increased her pace, moving quickly from stair to stair, excitement welling up inside her. They must be almost at the bottom!

And sure enough within minutes the stairs ended and there was the doorway. Outside she could see the grass rippling in the afternoon breeze, and hear the roar of the waterfall. There was nothing in her way, no door or shutters or obstacles of any kind and, even though it was just a poky little hole in a heavy stone wall, at that moment it looked to Rapunzel like the biggest open space she had ever seen.

This time there was no hesitation, no lingering questions or fears of disobedience. She bolted for that gap so quickly she felt Pascal's little feet tighten on her shoulder, clambered over the remaining stones littering the ground and practically threw herself forward, feeling her feet sink again into the soft grass. She wriggled her toes and felt them cool dirt between them.

She was here! She had made it back outside her tower! She had another chance to see the world, to explore it and find out everything she could about it, to find new books and paints and food and clothes and people and her family – her _family_!

"Oh, Pascal!" she cried, dropping her small bundle of belongings and picking him off her shoulder, holding him up to her face. "We did it!"

He was wearing his happiest expression, his tiny face practically bursting with anticipation. She laughed and planted a kiss on his scaly head.

But…where was Eugene? Had she left him behind on the stairs? Horrified, she spun around.

There he was, leaning against the side of the tower, his eyes fixed on her. A part of her registered that he was trying to look rather dignified and that this was incredibly sweet, but the rest of her was feeling rather warm. Her cheeks must be going red! How embarrassing.

But it was more than feeling a bit self-conscious at being caught giving her pet chameleon a kiss, she realised. It was also the way the afternoon sun was shining on his hair and falling on his face. It was how he was wearing a funny little smile and how, when she met his eyes they showed her the most incredible mixture of amusement, satisfaction, and delight. But most of all it was the pride she saw there that made her feel like her insides had gone mysteriously slushy very quickly.

"I hope you know," he said conversationally, "that now I can never kiss you again."

She tried to look sad, but she had a feeling from the look on his face that she was failing miserably. He laughed and held out his hand. "Come on, Blondie."

But as she moved towards him she caught sight of something that made her freeze. She dimly registered Eugene's fading laughter being replaced by a look of concern, but she dazedly stepped past him, inching closer to what she had seen from the corner of her eye. Was that –

It was. Crumpled on the grass at the foot of the tower beneath the high window from where it had fallen lay Moth – no, Rapunzel reminded herself firmly, _not _Mother, _Gothel's_ – cloak.

She felt her knees give out and she sank to the ground, reaching out to clutch the material, running it between her fingers. A sudden wash of memories rolled through her and her stomach, rather than feeling like it was full of a warm, fizzy liquid now felt like it was dissolving.

Gothel was the only other person Rapunzel had known. She had not always been the terrifying person Rapunzel had seen in the tower. She had cared for her, been her guardian, perhaps even loved Rapunzel in some way. Rapunzel squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry, but all she could see was Gothel. Gothel bringing her new paints. Gothel singing to her and tucking her in to bed. Gothel making her favourite foods. Gothel giving her hugs and kisses and telling Rapunzel she loved her most. Gothel sitting with her by the fire and brushing her hair –

Her hair. Rapunzel's eyes flew open. Her hair. That was what it had all been for, not for her. That was why she had been stolen from her family and kept in a tower, been told all her life that she was not strong or smart enough to fend for herself. It had all been just to keep Gothel young. Gothel as Rapunzel knew her had not even been her true self – Rapunzel had seen her morph into a wrinkled old lady with sunken eyes and snowy hair right in front of her.

No matter what Gothel had felt for her, it was only ever in service to her cruel, selfish desire to live a lie.

"Rapunzel! _Rapunzel!_"

Someone had grabbed her hands and was holding on for dear life. And there was something small patting her cheek…and something else nudging against the back of her head…

Rapunzel blinked and looked down at the cloak that was still wrapped tightly in her fists. Hang on, those weren't her hands…

"Rapunzel!" Eugene leant right in close, his face obscuring everything else. "Say something!"

She let out a huge _whoosh_ of air that she wasn't even aware she had been holding. "I'm okay," she croaked. "I'm okay."

Eugene was still clutching her hands in a vice-like grip. He looked almost terrified. Amongst her confusion Rapunzel felt her heart speed up at the idea that he was so worried for her. She didn't think there would ever been anyone who would worry that much for her. "Are you sure? You just fell over!"

Rapunzel nodded. "It just – takes some getting used to, I suppose," she said quietly. "Realising what she really was, and why she kept me here…"

He finally took one of his hands away from hers and laid it against the back of her neck. "I'm here," he said simply.

Rapunzel gave him a smile, feeling like her muscles were finally coming back to life. "I know." She sniffed. "I'm sorry."

"Listen," he said, pulling his hand around to her chin, "you don't need to apologise to me." He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Unless you decide to give me another bash with your pan, then it might be nice."

Despite herself Rapunzel felt a giggle slip out. How did he always _do _that? "What if you deserve it?"

Eugene looked scandalised. "_Me_? Deserve it?"

There was a derisive snort from above her head. Rapunzel let out a small squeal and dropped the cloak. "What was that?"

Eugene scowled. "Someone ruining the moment."

Rapunzel spun around on the spot, coming face to face with a large grey nose.

"Oh!" she squeaked. "Maximus! You scared me!"

Maximus nudged her head again and let out a whinny of concern.

"Oh no, I'm fine now!" She felt another small pat on her face and turned to look at Pascal. "I am, really," she told him. He gave her a look that told her he was obviously unconvinced. She ignored him and made to push herself off the ground, but Eugene reached out and pulled her to her feet and into a sudden hug.

Rapunzel let herself fall against his chest, feeling the last of the tension in her stomach drain away. The memories that had returned at the touch of the cloak were fading. Gothel was gone, she was out of the tower, she was here with the person who she had come to care for more than anything she had ever known. Even though she had thought she would never see him again, he was alive and well. She could feel his steady heartbeat against thumping against her cheek, could feel it beating almost in time with her own.

She had a whole new life in front of her, a live she wanted to _live. _It was time to leave and, in that moment, Rapunzel made a resolution, a promise to herself – as much as she could she would no longer dwell on this place and the memories it held for her_. _For them both, she added, as she tightened her arms around Eugene.

She _was _changing, she thought, marvelling at the idea. It was an almost foreign concept to her, having lived in this place for so long with only one person for company.

But everything had already changed. It changed the second she had first stretched out her toes to touch the grass at the bottom of her tower. This was just the continuation of everything that had already happened. And, she thought firmly, if that means I am moving away from _her _and what she taught me about myself, and the world, then so be it.

Another blast of hot air hit her cheek. Rapunzel reluctantly let go of Eugene and turned to Maximus, who was peering down his long nose at her. He seemed a bit confused.

"What is it, Maximus?" she asked him, reaching out to give him a pat. "Is it because my hair is different?"

He gave a horsey nod. She giggled and then looked at him very seriously. "I need you to help me, Max. I have something very important to do in the Kingdom." She took a big breath and prepared to say it for the third time that day, although no matter how many times she said it she still hardly believed it. "I need to see the King and Queen. I'm…I'm the lost princess."

Maximus, for once, didn't seem to know how to react. He stood and stared at her, his mouth slightly agape.

"You hear that, Max?" Eugene leant forward to stare Maximus right in the eye. "You get to carry the lost princess back to her parents! How's that for an honour?"

The sight of a Eugene who seemed to be more collected then he did certainly moved Maximus into action. He jumped to attention, hoofs together and head high, clearly ready to undertake this new venture of extreme importance.

Rapunzel stroked the side of his neck affectionately. "Do you think…I mean, I've never ridden a horse…"

Maximus gave a loud snort of surprise, clearly horrified at this shocking gap in Rapunzel's life.

"Well, he looks ready for it, don't you Max?" said Eugene.

"_Really?" _Rapunzel was absolutely thrilled. The idea of actually being able to climb on to something and have it carry you somewhere – it was amazing! "Oh, Max, would you?"

In answer Maximus turned himself proudly towards her, offering his saddle.

Rapunzel let out a squeal of joy. She rushed forward, then came to a sudden halt. Pascal leapt from her shoulder to settle on Maximus and gave her an inquiring look.

She stared back at him. "Um – what do I do?"

Pascal patted Max's back, poking his tail at the brown leather thing Maximus always wore.

"I sit in that?" she said. "Really? What's it called?"

"That's a saddle." Eugene moved forward. "And that's a bridle," he said, pointing to the thing that Maximus wore around his face and mouth. He held up a long strip that looped around Max's neck. "And these are the reins. You use them to tell the horse in what direction you want to go, see how they're joined to his mouth?"

"His _mouth_?" Rapunzel said, horror-struck.

"Yep," said Eugene. "Here, have a look."

Rapunzel crept forward, her hands pressed over her mouth. She could feel herself staring, but when she had first seen Maximus she had never imagined that all those leather bits were connected to his mouth!

Obviously wanting to prove that he was, in fact, a fine specimen of horse totally able to be trusted to carry a rider, Maximus bared his teeth in a big grin. Rapunzel felt herself gasp as she saw the flash of metal. "Why in his mouth? Doesn't that hurt him?"

Maximus gave her a very disapproving look that clearly stated no sensible horse let something as menial as oral discomfort hinder them.

"Not if you don't pull on it too hard," Eugene assured her.

"Wow." Rapunzel looked down and saw more metal hanging from the – what was it – saddle? "And what are those?"

"Stirrups. You put your feet in them so you don't fall off, and you can tell the horse to go faster if you bump your heels against their side." Eugene stuck his foot in one. "This is also how you get on to a horse." He made a movement as if he was going to swing his leg up but Maximus gave him a look that suggested to do so meant a speedy removal. He was clearly dedicated to having Rapunzel experience her first-ever horse ride and there were going to be no free rides for anyone else.

"What, I have to swung my leg around him?" Rapunzel was astonished. And, she realised, wearing a dress. She felt her cheeks go warm. How was she supposed to do _that_ without exposing her underclothes?

"Um – no." The same thought seemed to have occurred to Eugene, as he'd gone a bit red in the face and was avoiding her eyes. He's so different from when he first came into my tower, she thought to herself. How strange he was, giving me that odd grin…

He, meanwhile, was gesticulating towards the saddle. "You can sit on it sideways." He reached for her hand and towed her towards Maximus but stopped just as she reached the saddle, wearing a cheeky grin. "You're sure you want your first horse ride to be on him?"

Maximus raised a hoof threateningly.

"Never mind!" said Eugene hurriedly, turning quickly back to Rapunzel and placing her hand on the saddle. "Now, put your foot in the stirrup."

She tentatively placed her bare foot on the metal, wiggling her toes against the smooth surface. The coolness that spread through her foot and up her leg was wonderfully invigorating. What a funny texture metal had on your feet! Feeling much bolder, she turned to size up the saddle.

"Okay," Flynn was saying, "now grab hold of the edges…"

She reached out and clutched the leather between her fingers. How shiny it was! What beautiful leather! She tightened her grip, feeling all her muscles coiling, ready to spring This was so exciting!

"…so get ready to pull yourself up," he continued, "and don't worry, I'm right behind you to catch you if you fa – "

He stopped short as Rapunzel launched herself off the ground like a bouncing ball. There was a wonderful, brief moment of the air hitting her face as she twisted herself towards the saddle, then she felt her hip meet the leather and she wriggled towards the middle, Maximus steady as a stone beneath her. Hang on, a bit to the right, wait, a little to the left and – there! She had her balance! It was just like when she used to lower herself from the rafters with her hair, no difference really.

She turned back to look at Eugene, beaming. He was staring at her as if she'd sprouted another pair of legs and a tail and turned into a horse herself.

"What?" she said with a sudden pang of anxiousness. "Didn't I do it right?"

He was still totally gobsmacked. "Wha – how – that was perfect!"

"Oh." She gave him another huge smile. He was so funny when he was confused. "Well, I used to hang from the rafters all the time with my hair so I could paint, so I suppose balancing is something I'm used to."

He blinked. "Right."

She picked up the reins and squeezed the leather strip between her fingers. "What now?"

"Er – now we go." He indicated towards her foot. "Give him a nudge."

"But what about you? Aren't you going to ride with me?"

He shook his head with a proud smile. "Nope, this one's all yours."

She smiled back. It seemed to be just an automatic reaction to him – she couldn't help it when he was around. She didn't think she'd ever smiled so much in her entire life before now.

Beneath her Maximus twitched, obviously keen to get going. She gave him a cautious prod with her heel. He didn't need telling twice. She felt his massive shoulders heave and she squealed and clung to the reins. "This is amazing!"

Eugene laughed. "You haven't even gone a full foot yet!"

"I know!" She sat up and peered ahead, feeling herself bursting with excitement. "This is the best ever!"

"Just wait until you get saddle-sore," he replied with a grimace.

"What's saddle-sore?" she said curiously.

"It means you've sat in a saddle too long and it hurts. You get sick of that pretty fast when you're riding a long way."

"I'll never get sick of this, ever," Rapunzel declared. "It's too much fun!"

Eugene reached out and without thinking she took his hand. "I can't wait to see you gallop," he said.

"What's a – a gallop?" What a weird-sounding word!

He laughed again. It was strange, she mused, but whenever he laughed she never felt like he was laughing at her as if she were just a stupid, ignorant little girl the way Gothel had. When he laughed it was as if he took a genuine joy in being able to share with her the things she didn't know, as if he anticipated more than anything watching her discover them and seeing her reaction. She was getting that slushy feeling in her tummy again…

They ambled over to the cave that separated the tower from the woods and Rapunzel twisted in the saddle to take a final look at the tower. The afternoon sun flashed on the windows and her flowers, planted and looked after so carefully, bobbed gently in the breeze. As if they were waving.

She swallowed. Her breath hitched in her throat. Oh, she was going to miss her tower, despite everything that had happened there today!

She felt a squeeze on her fingers and she turned to find Eugene giving her a reassuring smile. "Still okay?" he said softly.

She nodded, not really trusting herself to speak. I said I would try, she reminded herself. I would try to not dwell on the past. But I can't forget all of it, it's my whole life!

Well, she reasoned, she'd just have to find a way to remember her tower. A way that made her happy, that didn't always lead back to Gothel. She was sure, as she watched Eugene wandering along beside her, saw Max's head bobbing up and down as he made his way into the cave and felt Pascal clamber up on to her shoulder and lay his little head against her neck, that she would find some way to do that.

She didn't even notice that this time she hadn't hesitated to say Gothel instead of Mother.

Together they approached the thick curtain of ivy at the entrance of the cave. Eugene, still somehow managing to keep hold of her hand, stepped forward and parted the long strands, and Rapunzel took a last, quick look at the valley behind. Then they were moving through into the forest, the golden afternoon light covering everything like liquid gold, and she was laughing as a few leaves of ivy brushed her face and tickled her nose and Maximus gave Eugene a face full of tail hair as he passed.

**You know the drill, please give me a review! I love love love all the hits my story has been getting but feedback is wonderful!**


	4. The Campfire

**Hello! Sorry it's been a couple of weeks, the new job is officially going to take over my life! But I love it so that's okay, just means other things will take longer to get done. I hope you like the new chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, nope, nope, it isn't mine.**

**Chapter 4 – The Campfire**

Now that the sun had set the grass was lovely and cool, and Rapunzel was taking full advantage of it. As soon as Eugene had disappeared around a tree looking for firewood she'd flung herself to the ground with an exhausted sigh.

Max had a looked a little hurt at the speed with which she had removed herself from his back. As they'd reached a clearing in the trees Eugene had announced it was time to stop for the night. Rapunzel had been far too tired to do more then nod, and as Eugene had turned around to survey their campsite she had slipped out of the saddle. What she hadn't counted on was that her legs had apparently turned to jelly during the few hours they had been riding. She'd let out a squeal and frantically clutched at Max as she toppled over. Poor Maximus had done his best to catch her but she supposed it was hard to catch anything when all four feet were on the ground and you didn't have opposable thumbs.

Eugene had swung around with a startled look on his face. "Rapunzel! Are you all right?"

She peered up at him from her position on the ground. "You know how you said I'd get saddle-sore?"

Eugene nodded. His mouth twitched. "Your legs feel funny?"

"Everything feels funny!" she wailed. Pascal jumped off Maximus and settled on her knee, giving it a reassuring pat. "Even sitting down hurts."

He leant down and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "That's because you've been sitting down all day." He put a finger under her chin and gave her a reassuring smile. "You going to be okay while I go and get some firewood? You'll feel better once I've got a fire going."

She nodded, watched him wander off into the trees, and then collapsed back on to the cool, damp grass. It felt wonderful against her back and the burning ache in her body started to fade a little.

She concentrated on keeping very still, breathing deeply, feeling the rise and fall of her chest and the small, warm lump that was Pascal curled up on her stomach. It was something she'd used to do in her tower at night. When Mother wasn't there and the shadows of twilight had started creeping up the walls she had listened to the sounds of the night: insects chirping, grass and leaves rustling, the _whoosh _of the breeze overhead. She'd been able to hear these things from the tower, of course, so she'd lie next to the window and imagine what it was like out there, would it be like to actually _be _amongst those sounds rather than just hearing them drift through on the sweet night air.

And now she was here! And how different it was to _feel_ everything rather than just dream about what it might be like! The grass pushing into her back, just like when her toes had first tentatively touched it beneath her tower, velvety and yet prickly at the same time. The early evening coolness seeping through the silky material of her dress; she could feel it sticking to her skin, giving her lovely little goosebumps. And for once she didn't have to worry about picking bits of nature out of her hair!

Her hair. She reached up and felt again the short strands that now framed her face, running her fingers over the ends. They felt so sharp and fresh compared to ends of her blonde hair! That moment – the very second – where Eugene had cut it was still suspended clearly in her memory, although it faded in comparison to the extraordinary landslide of emotions she'd felt immediately afterwards. How could you describe the feeling of having seventy feet of hair removed from your head all at once?

There had been this moment where everything slowed down. She'd seen the look in Eugene's eyes. Something had clicked, had switched over as he'd stared at her, but she'd been so terrified of the blood that was staining his shirt she'd not even registered what it might mean. Then he had been leaning towards her, his hands reaching for her face, and then her hair…

…and suddenly…lightness. That was the only word she could think of. Lightness. She'd never even been aware of the weight of her hair. It was something she was used to, something she just accepted. It was there, it couldn't come off, end of story. She was lucky to have it. It had the power to heal anything. Until that moment, she'd never considered life without it.

But as it had fallen away, as she'd realised what had happened and what Eugene had done and she'd watched in horror as eighteen years of blonde hair disappeared and hundreds of years hit Gothel all at once, there had been the tiniest part of her that had leapt with joy. She hadn't realised it at the time but now, as she lay here on the beautiful grass under a night sky speckled with stars, she realised she felt another kind of freedom.

It was the freedom from something that had needed to be protected and had made her a sitting duck for those who might want to use it. For those who _had _used it, she reminded herself grimly. More than that, it was the freedom from responsibility, from the enormous task of being attached to this strange power. She hadn't even felt it all pressing down on her until it had been lifted, like she'd been holding her hands above her head for years and years and someone had finally told her she could put them down.

She'd finally dropped her hands, and now she knew.

It wasn't the same freedom she had felt earlier as she left her tower, she decided. It was definitely different from that. She had been yearning for that for years and years, and it was huge – _enormous _– for her to leave. It was physical, and tangible. It had been a door she'd had to walk through. This she hadn't even been aware was possible, let alone that it might be something she wanted. Something that would be _good_ for her.

No, this was a quieter kind of freedom, a small orb of light in her chest slowly growing brighter. She closed her eyes and felt a lazy smile spread over her face until her cheeks hurt and she lay there grinning up at the sky like an idiot. A _happy _idiot.

A loud snort interrupted the peaceful silence. She lazily opened an eye to see Maximus staring down at her with a very worried expression. She reached up to scratch his chin. "It's okay, Max!"

He twisted his head to the side and then there was a heavy _thump _as he lowered himself to the ground next to her head. Rapunzel laughed and dragged herself towards him so she could rest her head against his side.

She was so sleepy…and Max was very warm against her hair…maybe she should rest for a while. She'd never had such a long day in her life…

"Blondie. _Blondie_. Wake up."

Someone was patting her cheek. She flailed a hand groggily. "Mmph?"

She heard low, soft laugh. "Come on, I've got the fire going."

She opened her eyes slowly and Eugene's smiling face came into focus. "Had a nice nap?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded, and then let out a huge yawn. "How long was I asleep?" she asked, sitting up.

"About an hour. You looked pretty settled in and I didn't want to wake you."

She beamed at him. "Thank you. That was sweet."

He went a bit red and cleared this throat. She'd noticed he did that a lot when she said things like that. She would have to ask him about it someday, but right now her stomach was feeling very empty. "Do we have anything to eat?" she asked.

"Do we have anything to _eat_?" he repeated incredulously. "Blondie, do you think I'd be tramping around in the woods with you without having something for us to eat?"

"You didn't last time. You needed to take us somewhere for lunch," she pointed out.

"I took us to the Snuggly Duckling!" he said defensively as he reached into his pouch.

"Yes, and look how well that turned out," she teased.

Eugene sniffed and pulled out two apples and some cheese. "Will this make up for it?"

"Where did you get those?" she asked curiously, reaching out absently to grab an apple and taking a bite without even thinking about it. She couldn't remember feeling this hungry before! Still, she'd been more active than usual of late.

"Um…" Eugene looked a bit uncomfortable. "I knew we didn't have any food, so I…took them from your kitchen?"

Why on earth was he saying it like a question? He could be so odd! She shrugged, more preoccupied with consuming her apple then anything else, although behind her Maximus had pricked up his ears and was giving Eugene a very dark look. "That's good! I didn't even think about that."

He stared at her, his mouth slightly open, just like he had in the tower when she'd been so interested in that lock-pick thing. It was amazing! Of course she was excited by it! He didn't need to look so surprised all the time.

"But…" he swallowed and looked down at his apple, turning it over in his hands. "But don't you feel like…I mean, I didn't ask first!"

"It doesn't matter, it would have just sat there otherwise and we would have been hungry." She stopped chewing, her cheeks bulging with apple, and stared at him. "Why are you so worried about it?"

He said nothing, just continued to gaze at the apple, his fingers clenched around it.

"Eugene?" she wheedled, shifting a bit closer to him, "What is it?"

He sighed a big, deep sigh. "Do you want to know how old I was when I first stole something?"

Her hands dropped limply into her lap, still clutching her apple. "How old?" she said nervously.

He finally turned to look at her. "I was sixteen. I was sixteen and I stole a jar of jam to go with my bread at the orphanage." He looked back at the apple. "I didn't get caught that day. But ever since…" He tore at the stem viciously. "Let's face it, I've been stealing things since I was younger than you are now. Ten years I've been thieving! I'm a _thief,_ Rapunzel! A big one!"

She stared at him, her apple forgotten. So _this _was it. He was – hang on,_ ten_ years?

"Sixteen?" she said, astonished. "You were _sixteen_?"

She could see the muscles bunching as he hunched his shoulders and clenched his jaw. Her hands shook a little in her lap and her heart lurched, and she wondered absently why her body always did that when he was around. "Yes," he said, his voice taut. "I'm a – "

"You mean you're twenty-six?" she interrupted him. "_Really?_"

"Yes! I – " He swung around and stopped abruptly, looking both anguished and totally flabbergasted. "What?"

"Are you really twenty-six?" she repeated. "I had no idea you were that old!" She burst into a fit of giggles, feeling very inappropriate and rude but not being able to help herself. Behind her Maximus whinnied and Pascal emitted a wheezy little laugh.

Eugene was still staring at her, so still he seemed to have become part of the landscape. He'd dropped the apple, she noticed, and it only made her giggle more.

"Twenty-six!" she gasped, wiping her eyes. "Wow, I never would have guessed it!"

"Why are you saying _twenty-six _like it's ancient?" he sputtered, finally seeming to have regained control over himself. "It's not that old! I'm not even middle-aged yet! I'm in my prime!"

"It's just – I thought you were only twenty-one or twenty-two!" She tried to master herself, but it didn't help that Pascal was still sniggering away on her lap and Maximus was shaking quietly.

"Really?" He looked slightly mollified. "Was that your first impression, or did that change when you spent more time – hang on!" He frowned. "We were talking about something important!" His eyes narrowed. "You distracted me! You're always doing that!"

She shrugged, still suppressing her laughter. "Sorry."

He humphed and bent down to pick up his apple. "The fact still remains I'm a wanted criminal and you're a princess."

_That _sobered her up. She sucked in a huge breath of air as he said it: _princess. _She could feel it pounding in her head in time with the thumping of her heart. Princess. Princess. Princess.

Since they had left the valley that afternoon she had been thinking about her parents constantly. Would they recognise her? Accept her as their own? What would it be like to have _two _parents instead of one?

That they were also the King and Queen had been lurking in the back of her mind but all her other thoughts had skimmed over it. It had been obscured by everything else whizzing around in there. She hadn't even had the physical or emotional capacity to consider that side of it yet.

But now Eugene had said it and it was echoing around inside her like someone had rung an enormous bell. _Princess, princess, princess._

She swallowed, the last few pieces of apple scraping against her throat. It hurt a bit but she barely noticed it. She had a much bigger problem to deal with.

"You're right," she said quietly.

"I know I am, I told – " Eugene stopped mid-sentence, a look of horror falling over his face. "What?"

"You're right," she repeated, louder this time. "You are a thief, and I'm a princess."

He seemed to be suspended in time. For the second time in only a couple of minutes he looked like something that had sprouted from the ground. He had that reaction a lot, she noticed, and then realised it had probably come from years of being a criminal. Which was precisely the problem.

She saw him lick his lips as if his mouth were dry. Again her heart turned over but this time very slowly, as if it were on a spit roasting over a fire. A burning agony instead of that beautiful quick flip it had been doing all day. It was not a good pain. It hurt in a way that made her feel a bit sick. Her heart had never hurt like that before today. She thought he had left her, she thought he was dead, and now this…_princess_ thing…

"So – " His voice cracked and he swallowed. "So, you agree with me. That's…" His breathing seemed to be speeding up, coming in little bursts, his chest moving rapidly. "That's good to know."

His chilly tone made Rapunzel want to cry. It was so different from the warmth with which he usually spoke! She forced herself to speak although her throat seemed to be closing up rather fast like she was a deflating balloon.

"It's just that I can't – I can't do that to you!" she cried. "How can I expect you to come into the palace with me? I would never forgive myself if it meant you lost your freedom! I don't want you to be like me, stuck in a tower! It's too much for me to ask, and I can't, I won't, even if it means you have to go away – "

Eugene was suddenly right in front of her with a finger on her lips. For someone who had looked set to sit still forever he moved pretty fast. "Are you saying," he said, his eyes focused solidly on hers and choosing his words slowly and carefully, "that you don't want me to come with you because you're afraid I'll get caught?"

She nodded. "Yes," she said in a wavering voice. "And I can't imagine how I'd – "

"Wait a minute!" There was now a definite gleam in his eyes so that they seemed to match the flickering firelight. "So you _don't _want me to go because I'm a thief and a criminal who nicked your crown and you're a princess who has no need to keep company with the likes of me?"

She gasped. That he would ever _think _that! It had never even occurred to her that it might be considered inappropriate. All she cared about was that he was safe! "No! Of course not! You saved me!" She stared at him with wide eyes. "As if you being a thief would matter to me! All I want is to make sure you don't get into any trouble because I hauled you into the palace with me!"

He let out an enormous puff of air and sort of collapsed on to the ground in front of her so his head was resting on her knees. "Oh, that could have been a serious misunderstanding."

She jammed her finger under his forehead and shoved his head away from her knees, feeling furious. "You actually thought that of me? That just because I'm a – a princess I'd suddenly decide you couldn't come with me? When it clearly didn't matter to me before?" She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

He looked like a fish who thought he'd just been let off a hook only to realise it was swinging back in for round two. "It's not that I don't trust you!" he said hurriedly, "I – "

"I told you I never break a promise! _Ever!" _she prodded the finger that was holding him up hard against his forehead. "And I promise to take you with me if that's what you want, and I promise that whatever your past is it doesn't matter to me!" She prodded him again. "You can be so stupid!"

He grabbed her hand. "Will you stop poking me?"

She glared at him. "Will you stop worrying about being a thief?"

"I'll stop worrying if we make it to the castle without me getting arrested, how's that?"

"Nobody will be arresting you!" she said fiercely, the very thought of it making her stomach feel full of bubbles – half angry, half terrified at the idea of him being taken away from her ever again. "Seeing as I am the princess I'll make sure of that!"

He stared at her for a moment, his expression somewhere between amusement and awe. She saw again that flash of pride in his eyes and it made her feel suddenly a lot less nervous about the prospect of having to order a group of guards to leave him alone – if it came to that. "You are something else," he said.

She frowned. "What?"

He laughed. "It means I've never met anyone like you in my life."

"And…that's a good thing?" she said hesitantly.

He held out his arms and she crawled automatically into his lap, feeling his hands run along her shoulders and wrap tightly around her waist. "Now who's being silly?" he said softly into her ear. His breath against her skin made her feel all wobbly and she was glad she was sitting down.

"I still can't believe you thought I would send you away," she said sadly. "I already thought I'd lost you today…"

He rubbed her back and squeezed her tighter. "You know, to some people being a thief is pretty important. It kind of makes you a bad person in their eyes."

"Not to me," she said resolutely. "Never to me. I was only afraid of dragging you into something you'd hate."

Eugene shook his head. "You never dragged me into anything." He paused. "Okay, maybe once."

She sighed against his shoulder. "But – you've lived like this for so long, and if you come with me it's going to change."

"Don't care," he said firmly. "I'm staying with you."

"Really?"

"Oh, so you don't trust me?" he teased. "You think I don't want to stay with you after what happened today? What is _wrong _with you?"

"Stop it," she said, but she laughed despite herself and ruined it. "Besides, you told me trusting you was a horrible decision, so there!"

"Well, I certainly proved myself wrong, didn't I?" he said, looking supremely pleased with himself. "My, my, I _am _impressive!"

She rolled her eyes and leaned her forehead against his. "Sorry I poked you in the face."

"Eh. It's better than the frog licking me in the ear."

Pascal grumbled from somewhere amongst the grass.

"And," continued Eugene as if there had been no interruption, "I know how you can make it better!" He beamed at her as if he'd just discovered something wonderful. "You can kiss it!" He closed his eyes and leaned his head forward with an expectant air.

She cocked her head to the side, considering the possibilities, then decided to bypass his forehead completely and instead went straight for his lips.

As her mouth touched his he gave a little jolt of surprise and she giggled. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of him doing that! Deciding that she wanted to surprise him a bit more – and feeling a little dizzy from the frantic pounding of her heart in her ears – she pushed against him a little harder. In response she felt the tips of his fingers dig into her back but rather than hurting her, it felt _amazing_. She found she wanted him to hold her tighter, she wanted to be even closer to him, she wanted to breathe him in…she slid her fingers softly down his cheeks and across the hair on his chin, and then she dropped them down to the neck of his shirt. His skin was so smooth there! She wriggled her fingers against it and he started to laugh against her lips, little puffs of air that sent weird jolts all through her.

"What?" she said, pulling back and feeling like her mouth was oddly swollen.

"You were tickling me!" he said breathlessly. He was looking very red and dishevelled. It only made her want to kiss him again, but she found herself distracted.

"Tickling?" she said curiously. "Are you ticklish?"

"I'm sleepy!" he said loudly, although he looked anything but. "And Max is starting to scare me, to be honest."

Rapunzel swung around to see Maximus glaring at them with narrowed eyes, his nostrils flaring. Pascal, meanwhile, huddled in the grass next to him, looking determinedly in the other direction.

"Why do they look like that?" she asked.

Eugene cleared his throat. "Kissing is not something that is – um – usually done in public."

"But we're not in public!" she laughed. "We're in the forest!"

"Well, in front of people! Or animals," he added, shooting a cranky glance at Maximus and Pascal.

"Why?" She didn't really understand the reason for that. It was so much fun to kiss him! She should do it more often.

He smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "It's not considered very polite."

She humphed. "Well, that's silly. I mean, all you're doing is showing someone you care about them, aren't you?"

He looked a bit alarmed. "Well, yes, but you don't go around kissing everyone just to show them you like them!"

She raised her eyebrows. "I'm not planning on kissing anyone else, you know. I'm just saying, it seems stupid for it to not be polite!"

"Tell you what, why don't you just stick to handshakes?"

What on earth was a handshake? "What's that?" She reached for his hand and shook it around, his arm swinging with the force of it. "Is that what you're talking about? That seems even ruder!"

For a moment he looked as if he was struggling under the weight of some hilarious mental image that had just flashed through his head, then he blinked and made a strange gurgling sound like he was trying not to laugh. "How about we get some sleep and I tell you about them tomorrow?"

She sighed. "Well, I am still really tired."

He cocked his head to the side. "You know, so am I, for some crazy reason." He gave her a big grin. "Being with you seems to really take it out of me."

She yawned widely. "Well, you did say I was something else." She started to roll off his lap.

His hand shot out and he grabbed her shoulder. "Hang on, where do you think you're going?"

"Um – " She blinked up at him, confused. "The ground?"

He made a noise of mock horror. "The lost princess, sleeping on the grass? I don't think so!" He flopped back against the ground, spread out like a star. "You can sleep on me!"

"On _you?" _She felt like her eyes were popping out of her head. "But – but – I've never slept next to anyone before!"

"Aha!" He held up a finger, looking triumphant. "But I am not just anyone! I am the person who _found_ the lost princess! It is therefore appropriate for you to sleep on me."

She frowned, then shrugged and settled down half on his chest, half on the springy grass. "Will that do?"

She felt his chest rumble with laughter. "As long as you're comfortable, I don't mind at all."

She shivered. The fire was burning low now, and last time she'd been out in the woods at night she'd had her hair as a blanket. Hmm. Despite her recent discovery that not having seventy feet of hair might improve her life it had certainly been useful.

Suddenly there was a warm arm wrapped around her shoulders, and then she felt Eugene roll over so her back was resting against him. "That better?" she heard him say, feeling again the vibration of his voice humming through her where their bodies touched. She never knew voices felt like that!

She nodded and let her eyes flutter shut, watching the flickering of the dying fire against her eyelids. Her mind started to drift back over what Eugene had said. He _had _found the lost princess, after all…he was going to bring her back to the kingdom…maybe that meant he wouldn't be in trouble anymore…he had been the one to find the tower, even if he had been trying to hide her crown…

"You know," she said sleepily, hardly aware of what she was saying, "the only reason you found the lost princess was because you wanted somewhere to hide with her stolen crown?"

He gave a drowsy laugh. "But me being a thief isn't important, is it?"

Rapunzel shifted contently against his chest. "Not at all."

...

**Coming up next...meeting the parents.**


	5. The Journey

**A/N: Well, it's been a while! My new job certainly took up an awful lot of time, as is obvious, I suppose, from the fact that I haven't updated in months. So I thought I would finish this off, I only have a couple of chapters left and I want to tie it all up! So here is my next chapter. It's almost like time travel for me - I wrote this in March or something and here it is in June!**

**Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Tangled. **

**Chapter 5 - The Journey**

It was incredible, Eugene thought, how fast everything had changed. Instead of travelling alone as he had intended, he was now accompanied by a bad-tempered horse, a frog and beautiful princess. Instead of being far, far away from the kingdom, sprinting frantically in the opposite direction, he was approaching it at a frightening speed. And instead of not giving two hoots about the lost princess and where she might be, she had now become the centre of his universe.

He grinned, feeling a strange, warm blossoming in his stomach as he thought it. He snuck a surreptitious glance in her direction. Her hair was a particularly gorgeous shade of brown in the morning sunlight. Her enormous green eyes – honestly, he didn't even think eyes could be that large – were sparkling, flicking in every direction as she watched anxiously for the first sight of the spirals and towers of the palace over the trees. She was leaning so far forward in the saddle he would have been worried she might fall off except, he now knew, she had the amazing ability to balance on anything. If she hadn't been born a princess and then been whisked away and trapped in a tower, he thought idly, she would have made an excellent thief.

Oh well. Still, it didn't really matter what she was. She had somehow tied him to her in the deepest, strangest way, in a way he still didn't completely understand. He'd never, ever been tied to anyone in his life. Who would he have had to be tied to? But now it was just like when she'd had him all wrapped up in her golden hair. She was the ground he had somehow become rooted in like a tree.

And, he thought, his grin widening, she didn't care what he was either.

He'd been mulling over it in his head yesterday as they made their way through the forest. She'd been staring everywhere and pointing at everything as if it were all new, all over again. How did she do that? How did she have so much energy and enthusiasm?

Oh dear. He was getting distracted again. But even as distracted as he'd been yesterday by her as they walked (or rather, he walked and she rode), he couldn't shake that horrible, creeping feeling that was winding itself through his insides. He was a thief. She was a princess. How on earth did you resolve _that _conflict?

And then she'd said those two horrible words. They were words that had always sounded so beautiful to him before: "You're right." Of course he was right! When would people learn this? But when she'd said them last night next to the fire he'd felt as if the noose he'd seen through the bars of the prison window was once again around his neck – and tightening very quickly.

Oh no, he'd thought. She wants me to leave.

It hadn't really sunk in. It was like the words were trickling over the surface of his skin; he was a rock and they were water pointlessly seeking a way in. But even water will wear away at stone eventually, and gradually he could feel the thought becoming clearer and clearer, as much as he tried to block it out, until it was a scream in his head. "You're right, you're right, YOU'RE RIGHT!"

Of course, he should have seen it coming. Who had ever really wanted him to stick around, as self-pitying as it sounded? He'd spent the first half of his life in an orphanage where nobody had ever come to claim him, and the second half as a criminal where the only people who wanted to claim him were soldiers. So really, he shouldn't have been surprised.

And the fact that he was made it abundantly clear to him yet again just how attached to her he had already become in only a few short days.

All of this had been whirring around in his head as Rapunzel had stared at him tearfully – and then revealed that she was only worried for his safety and she didn't want to drag him in to the kingdom in case he was arrested!

Well, that had certainly changed things. Rather than seeping in slowly that clunker had dropped through immediately and sent him reeling. She wanted him after all! She didn't care about his past! He could stay!

Nobody had ever really wanted him to stay before. Nobody had ever been able to look past the thief. Nobody had ever seen Eugene Fitzherbert. All they'd ever seen was Flynn Rider.

Except her. And every time she showed him that he felt his bond to her growing stronger and stronger.

He was turning into such a sap.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel suddenly squealed, yanking him from his musings. "I can see it! I can see the palace!" She grabbed his shoulder and pointed, leaning even further forward in the saddle. Sure enough, over the top of the trees, the highest point of the palace loomed. Eugene knew it very well, having clambered all over it quite recently.

He reached up and squeezed her hand. "Not long now, Blondie."

She was practically bouncing in the saddle with excitement, her hands twisting nervously around the reins. "Can I make Max go faster?"

"Of course! You just nudge his sides with your feet and flick the reins," he said without thinking.

"Let's go, Max!" Rapunzel cried, giving him a huge poke in the side and flinging the reins madly.

"No!" yelled Eugene. He took an enormous step forward, hit a patch of wet grass, and felt his feet fly out from underneath him. He hit the ground and the air whooshed from his lungs.

Max, on the other hand, wasted no time getting moving. Eugene heard his snort of glee and then, with an enormous pounding of hooves, he jumped clean over Eugene and thundered off through the trees, the laughter of Rapunzel ringing through the crisp morning air.

"Rapunzel!" Eugene rolled over and found Pascal squeaking angrily on the grass next to him, legs waving. He scooped up the little chameleon, stuck him in his pocket and sprinted after them.

He followed as much as he could Rapunzel's shrieks of mirth as they drifted back to him through the forest. In his haste didn't even look where he was going. He got hit several times in the face by tiny branches, and one time by a particularly large one. Nose stinging and eyes watering, he promptly trod in a huge puddle. He narrowly avoided a collision with a passing squirrel, who chattered angrily. As they ran Pascal clambered up on to his shoulder, shook his tiny fist and squealed right back. Eugene didn't even stop to consider the bizarre nature of this exchange as he careened around an enormous tree, slid down a small hill and ran full pelt for the nearby bridge that led to town.

He could just make out Max and Rapunzel galloping across it. He groaned and forced his aching legs to go faster.

Finally, in a haze of exhaustion and leaves, he staggered on to the bridge. He looked up and thought his stomach might drop right out of his body.

There, at the very end, were five guards, each of them with their spears pointed directly at Rapunzel who was still (Eugene was thankful to see) seated firmly on Max. Next to his ear Pascal let out an angry whirr.

"Right there with you," Eugene muttered. The sight of Rapunzel with that many spears so close to her face gave him a whole new burst of energy and he broke into another run, his long strides quickly bringing him close enough to hear what was going on.

"…on the Captain's horse?" one of the guards was saying angrily. "He was last seen with Rider on his back, and now you turn up on him saying you need to get to the palace? Who do you think you are?"

"You will go no further than this!" said another, shaking his spear in a threatening manner. "You will remove yourself from that horse this instant and the come with us for questioning on Rider's whereabouts!"

"You don't need to ask!" Eugene bellowed, skidding to a halt and attempting to throw himself between Max and the guards. "Take me in if you want, but you'll leave her alone!"

"No!" he heard Rapunzel cry softly. He turned to give her a quick smile and saw that she was white with fright, clutching the saddle as if it were the only thing keeping her upright. His heart clenched and he gritted his teeth. How dare they make her feel this way! They didn't even know who she was!

"You!" boomed one of the guards, reaching out and grabbing Eugene by the neck of his shirt. "Back for another shot at the gallows are you, Rider? The Captain will be very happy to see you!"

"Get off me!" Eugene snarled, clamping his fist around the guard's arm and attempting to pull away. "If you want to take me away, fine, but get your hands off me!"

The guard's face turned a horrid dark red. "You don't get to give me orders, you criminal!" he roared. "I'll take you in and I'll do it any way I like, and there's nothing you can do about it!" He reached around to grab Eugene's other arm, and suddenly he was surrounded by guards. They reached for his wrists and twisted his arms behind his back so hard he could feel the muscles screaming, and he let out a yell of frustration and pain –

"_STOP!"_

The guards froze, Eugene suspended between them. It was all oddly familiar. He had a sudden flash of déjà-vu…

He couldn't turn his head but he swivelled his eyes as far as he could to the side.

Rapunzel hadn't moved, but, he realised, she looked completely different. No longer was she grabbing onto the saddle, pale and scared. Now her cheeks were full of colour and she sat up completely straight in the saddle, almost like it was – well, like it was a throne, her shoulders back and chin high. Her mouth was a thin line, her jaw clenched, and her eyes were flashing as if they were filled with thunder and lightning, an angry dark green like a forest in a storm.

Eugene felt so proud he thought he might explode. He was witnessing once again the kind of evolution that had occurred inside The Snuggly Duckling, although that time he'd been too surprised to think anything (well, apart from 'What on _earth?_'). Now he thought, _that's_ my girl!

Max had also risen to the occasion. He had drawn himself up to his full (and considerable) height, nostrils flaring, eyes gleaming, staring down at the guards with a look clearly brimming with disdain. Pascal sat in between Max's ears, his position practically identical.

Not one of the guards had moved a muscle. They hardly seemed to be breathing.

"Leave him _alone_!" Rapunzel said in a commanding voice. In the complete silence that had fallen it penetrated the air like a silver trumpet. Out of the corner of his eye Eugene saw passers-by stopping to stare.

The guard who had first spotted Eugene seemed to find his voice, although it came out rather small and weedy compared to Rapunzel's. "We have every right to take him – and you – into custody."

"You will do _no such thing_!" Rapunzel said, glaring at him so sternly the guard actually shrank back a little. "Now let him _go_!"

The guards looked at each other uneasily, clearly torn between this mysterious young girl on the Captain's horse and keeping hold of their prize.

"You have no power to command it!" replied the guard, still clinging tightly to Eugene's arms, which were now going numb.

"_Don't_ I?" Rapunzel said in a voice that cracked like a whip. "I am the lost princess, and I wish to see the King and Queen!"

There was a collective gasp from the guards. Every single one turned an identical shade of white so quickly Eugene had to fight the desire to laugh. Behind them a wave of whispers broke out from the townspeople who had gathered to watch.

The guard actually dropped Eugene's arms in surprise. "You – the lost – no!" he sputtered. "How could that be?"

Rapunzel's eyes flashed dangerously and Maximus took a threatening step forward. "I wish to speak to the King and Queen! Take us to the palace!"

"How do we know you really are?" said another guard, his spear now hanging limply by his side.

"Well, if she really is, you shouldn't risk it by making her angrier," Eugene pointed out.

The first guard swung around and frowned at him. "We'll hear no more out of you until this matter is resolved!" He turned back to his troop. "I will take them to the palace and sort this out," he said. "You will remain here in case there is any attempt at escape, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they chorused. The guard turned back to Rapunzel and beckoned her forward. Maximus immediately switched on his proudest walk, hooves clicking sharply against the cobblestones. As the guard turned to lead the way Rapunzel kept her head high, but she flicked her eyes towards Eugene quickly. In that second her anxiety broke through and he saw her swallow hard. He quickly raised his hand to hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You're amazing," he whispered as he passed.

She said nothing, but she sat up a little straighter and he could swear he saw the tiniest of smiles flicker on her face.

"You!" barked the guard, turning around again and pointing at Eugene with his spear. "You get to walk in front. Off you go!"

As they made their way towards the group of people who had gathered nearby Eugene could see them staring unabashedly at Rapunzel, their eyes roaming over her face, her eyes, her hair. Rapunzel shifted uneasily in the saddle, her cheeks now a deep crimson, obviously unsure where to look.

"It's her!" yelled a voice from somewhere in the crowd. "Look at her eyes! She's identical to the Queen!"

"And her hair!" cried another. "Her hair is the same colour!"

And suddenly there was a wall of noise as people stared talking and shouting and pushing in from all sides. Rapunzel's eyes widened and she let out a terrified squeak. "Eugene!" she hissed, groping forward to grab his shoulder. He immediately reached up to grab her hand and felt it trembling. She would never have had this many people focused on her in all her life.

"Stop!" thundered the guard. "Move aside, make way! We need to get to the palace! Get back!"

"Don't you touch her!" screeched yet another voice. "It's her, it's her!"

"Nothing has been decided yet!" the guard roared, his voice rolling out over the frantic voices. "Now get back!"

Gradually people moved aside until there was a narrow path through all the bodies. Eugene felt extremely uncomfortable. As many of them that were staring at Rapunzel were also staring at him. Any second now someone was going to –

"It's that thief!" someone shrieked. "That Rider!"

"He wants the reward! You filthy criminal, you cheating b – "

Yet another wave of noise came crashing down as they all surged forward once again, whipped into a fury by the realisation that Flynn Rider was the one who had brought in the lost princess. Eugene cringed inside as he realised what they all must be assuming – he was only there for the money or the titles or whatever the King and Queen would bestow upon the one who brought back their daughter. This was possibly one of the most awkward moments of his entire life, and that was saying something.

A hand shot out from the mass of bodies and made a grab for his vest. Eugene ducked it automatically and swung quickly out of reach, craning his head desperately to make sure Rapunzel was safe.

Maximus was baring his teeth and snorting furiously, but Rapunzel seemed rooted to the saddle, her eyes wide with panic as she watched the crowd. Eugene cursed under his breath. She had to get out of there.

He made a wild leap forward and smacked Max hard on his rear. Max shot him an irritated look before rearing up – Eugene groaned as Rapunzel let out a shriek of surprise – and plunging forward through the tiny gap that still remained. He thundered off in the direction of the palace, Rapunzel looking frantically over her shoulder.

The guard bellowed in frustration and tried for force his way through the crowd. "GET BACK! GET BACK, I TELL YOU!"

Without really thinking Eugene latched on to his wrist, pulled the guard in front of him and shoved forward. People jumped out of the way as Eugene pushed with all his might against the stumbling guard (who was letting off a fairly fantastic string of curses) until they were finally on the edge of the crowd.

"Run for it!" Eugene yelled as he started his third major sprint of the day. Thankfully he was used to running for his life.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" screamed the guard, his eyes popping and spear waving madly. "You could have crushed us both!"

"Because you were doing so well on your own!" Eugene shot back as he sped up, feeling a small sense of victory as he saw the guard puffing to keep up, not even able to form a response.

They rounded a corner and found Rapunzel waiting for them, pale and quivering. When she saw Eugene he thought she might fall off Max with relief. "You're all right!"

He flashed her a big grin. "Of course I am. I'm Flynn Rider, remember?"

The guard came grunting to a halt, his expression furious. _He'd _certainly remembered who Eugene was.

"Why were they doing that?" Rapunzel asked, still looking deeply shaken.

"They've been waiting for you for eighteen years," Eugene reminded her. "And they're definitely not fond of me."

"You don't say," growled the guard. He turned Eugene around roughly and motioned to Rapunzel to do the same. "Let's get you to the palace as quickly as possible."

They set off once again, the guard seeming to take a great deal of pleasure in giving Eugene the occasional prod with the flat of his spear. Rapunzel gradually stopped trembling, although she still looked pale and scared. Eugene was too far away to reach for her hand this time so he had to settle for shooting her encouraging smiles when he got the chance. Each smile, however, was accompanied by another poke in the back.

Finally they reached the palace gates. Eugene had never approached the palace from this angle during the day; the last time he'd been pulled through them it had been night and he'd been too panicked to even see where he was going. The enormous columns towered over their heads and the huge doors loomed imposingly in front of him. He'd never felt so tiny. All his bravado, all his confidence seemed to flee. The last little shreds of Flynn Rider left inside him shrivelled. He gulped.

The guard seemed to notice his change in demeanour in smirked in a horribly satisfied manner. What an ass.

The guards in front of the gates were peering anxiously towards the centre of town. "What's going on?" one of them called out.

"Erm – " The guard looked up at Rapunzel and then back to the guards at the gate. "Well, this girl says she's the lost princess."

The guard who had called to them snorted, looked at Rapunzel, and then did a double take. His mouth dropped open like a trapdoor.

Rapunzel stared back at him and wriggled uncomfortably in the saddle.

"We also found Flynn Rider," said the guard, giving Eugene a careless shove forward. The other man's eyes popped, giving him the appearance of a frog who was choking on a fly.

"I think you'll find that I found you," Eugene muttered grumpily. There was a definite feeling of discomfort settling in his stomach.

Luckily neither guard had heard him; either that or one was ignoring him and the other was still too surprised to care. Yet another guard moved towards them, squinting at them curiously. "What's going on here, then?"

"See to it that the King and Queen are told there is someone waiting on the balcony for them," said the guard with the popping eyes. "Immediately."

"Eh?" replied the other guard, looking confused. "Who?"

"The lost princess has returned." Eyes still as big as two moons, the guard pointed up at Rapunzel. "Look at her! She's the spitting image of the Queen!"

The confusion on the other guard's face was replaced with a look as if he'd just been hit with something heavy. "She does!" he breathed.

The guard who had accompanied them to the palace shifted uncomfortably. Eugene wanted to rub his hands with glee. The man was obviously starting to realise he'd been a bit of idiot. He made a desperate attempt to cover it up by saying, "Well, what are you waiting for? Send someone to inform their Majesties!"

"Glad to see you've had a change of heart," Eugene said casually. He was rewarded with an exceedingly evil look. He started to feel a bit better.

"Of course, at once!" both guards said, snapping to attention. They bolted off towards the palace, leaving the other guards still at the gate looking bewildered. Sadly, their grumpy guide still remained. "Come," he said. "I'll accompany you to the balcony where visitors are received."

Rapunzel still said nothing, just sat on Max looking a bit lost. Eugene slipped behind the guard and looped his fingers through hers. "You okay?" he said softly.

She bit her lip. "I'm terrified."

"So am I," he admitted.

That certainly surprised her. She turned to stare at him, her eyes adorably huge. "You are? Really?"

"I'm a wanted criminal who narrowly avoided being hanged yesterday and I'm about to come face to face with the King and Queen, who also happen to be your parents." He sighed. "It's a bit of a tense situation, you see."

She finally smiled. "They'll love you, I'm sure."

"I'm not," he said doubtfully.

She swallowed and then said so quietly he could hardly hear her, "You'll stay with me? Please?"

He looked up into her anxious face. Every luminous bit of those green eyes was filled such feeling he could hardly stand that she was up there and he was down there and too far away to pull her in for a hug. She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.

"Always," he said, settling instead for rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. "You know I will."

Although for all his resolve he still had to resist the urge to duck his head as they passed through the palace gates.

They moved up towards what Eugene realised must be the central courtyard where they had sent off the lanterns every year. All that time Rapunzel had been watching from her tower window…he turned and saw her staring all around, head craned upwards to take in the enormity of the building, the huge white walls and gleaming windows that surrounded them. Even through her worry he could see some excitement creeping in. He could just imagine her thinking of all the nooks and crannies waiting to be explored. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be allowed to stick around and explore them with her.

Finally they walked into an enormous open space with stairs leading up to a grand-looking balcony. Their guard came to an abrupt halt, turned and gestured up the steps. "Their Majesties will receive you up here. I will leave you and take the Captain's horse to the stables."

Rapunzel looked like she might be about to ask if Max could go with them, but instead she swallowed and slipped out of the saddle. Max gave her an encouraging nudge and then, completely ignoring the guard's hand that was waiting for his reins, trotted off across the courtyard with the surprised guard trailing behind.

Rapunzel watched him go. She absently reached up as if to play with her hair but her hands closed on nothing, so she clasped them in front of her instead. Pascal was curled on her shoulder, his tiny head resting against her neck.

Eugene didn't speak. He didn't want to rush her. This was probably the biggest moment of her life so far, apart from leaving her tower. And discovering she was a lost member of the royal family. And seeing her mother-turned-kidnapper fall out a window. And watching him be stabbed with a knife. And then witnessing him be brought back to life…

Oh, who was he kidding? She'd already faced more in the past few days than most people would in all their lives. If there was anything she had taught him (and she had taught him quite a lot) it was that she could handle anything.

Sure enough she turned to him, shoulders squared, and held out her hand. He took it and leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the forehead.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said, "Let's go."

Together they turned towards the staircase, and together they started upwards. One step, two steps, three…

...

**Next up: PARENTS.**


End file.
